CODIP — Result In Brief

In-depth understanding of factors influencing mental illness

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are two severe mental health conditions that lead to negative socioeconomic consequences. An EU initiative used innovative approaches to aid early detection and treatment.

Much evidence points to genetics as playing a role in both disorders. However, the physiological processes whereby such mental health conditions develop and the associated causes are not clearly understood.

The EU-funded CODIP (Cortical disorganisation in psychosis. Neurophysiological, clinical and genetic factors) project set out to shed light on the mystery surrounding both by using innovative neurophysiology techniques.

To achieve its aims, CODIP identified biomarkers (characteristics) of neural dysconnectivity that characterise psychosis through neurophysiological and neuropsychological methods. It then applied such biomarkers in genetic association studies to understand the mechanisms leading to the onset of disease.

In all, 300 families with a history of mental health and 220 of their unaffected first-degree relatives participated in a broad range of experiments. Researchers mainly employed an increasingly popular approach known as dynamic causal modelling (DCM) to identify novel measures of brain dysconnectivity and then use them as phenotypes for genetic association. These biomarkers of brain connectivity can potentially be used for early psychosis detection and treatment. They also studied candidate genes by carrying out extensive genome-wide genotyping analyses.

Using DCM, project partners selected and analysed several hypothetical connectivity models, the results of which were published in scientific journals and presented at international conferences and symposia.

CODIP provided new insights into the inner workings of two prominent mental diseases. The results could help scientists develop safer and more effective treatments in future.